The Poppy project looks perfect, and it is programmed in Python (and uses iPython notebooks as examples, which are awesome). It can also be programmed in a simpler graphical language similar to Scratch which makes it accessible to more members.

Let's put LED strip around the tables and connect it to the internet. We could use node-red or something in Python to control it, maybe hook it up to some sensors or a feed? Would be cool to get a game running on it somehow.

It should be built so that 'apps' can be loaded up and run by any user.